Medical and Regulatory Affairs

Medical and Regulatory Affairs

FDA’s LDT Proposal and Its Impact on Clinical and Regulatory Professionals

On September 29, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made public a potentially game-changing proposal concerning the regulatory framework for laboratory-developed tests (LDTs). Understanding the nuances and implications of these changes is paramount for specialists in regulatory affairs and the clinical development arena. The FDA is proposing a change to its regulations to...

Medical and Regulatory Affairs

Rare Oncology and the FDA: Taking the Guesswork Out of Expedited Pathways

Rare cancers account for 25-30 percent of all new cancer diagnoses and 25 percent of cancer deaths.1 With their poorly understood natural histories, phenotypic heterogeneity, and diverse clinical manifestations, rare cancers pose challenges to drug development and represent a significant unmet need in oncology. Faced with limited treatment options, researchers, clinicians, and patients may be...

Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

Opportunities Beyond Hope: Immuno-Oncology Drug Development

Introduction Over the past decade, immune-oncology (IO) has become one of the most promising and fastest-growing areas of cancer research and drug development. Present-day advances in immuno-oncology can be attributed to an explosion of research in this area in recent years, leading to a paradigm shift in the understanding of cancer. Until the late 1990s...

Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

Premier Insight 282 | Leveraging the Power of Communication: Supporting Enrollment of a Phase 2 Cervical Cancer Study During a Pandemic

Background Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women. Despite being highly preventable, over 600,000 women were diagnosed and more than 340,000 died from the disease worldwide in 2020. The majority of cervical cancers are caused by infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) and the implementation of HPV vaccines has been shown to reduce...

Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

Leveraging Real-World Data & Real-World Evidence to Support Regulatory Decision Making

The FDA is committed to increasing sponsor opportunities to apply RWD and RWE to support regulatory decision-making.1 The goal is to use quantities of available data, streamline the drug development process, and learn how interventions perform in real-world use, outside the strictly controlled limits of a clinical trial. According to legal and scientific standards, the...

Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

Making the Switch from Rx to OTC

Introduction With the support of patients, regulators, and payers, pharma and biotech companies’ interest in converting prescription drugs (Rx) to over-the-counter (OTC) is growing. In 2021, the sales value of Rx-to-OTC switches was around $35 billion USD. According to Future Market Insights, it is expected to rise at 5.3 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR),...

Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

Making the Asia-Pacific Region a Destination of Choice for Oncology Clinical Trials

Introduction Over the past decade, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region has seen the most robust growth in oncology clinical trial activity, with a 138 percent increase over the period from 2010 to 2020. In fact, APAC now ranks first in the world for total number of ongoing oncology clinical trials, with China accounting for more than...

Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

Full Service or FSP? How to Choose the Right Model for Your Study

Typically, when people talk about a full-service contract research organization (CRO) they mean a group that handles every aspect of a clinical study, supplying the personnel, the systems, and the processes. The sponsor is spared all operational involvement with the full-service model, simply receiving key information at specified intervals. This model works very well for...

Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

IVDR Survival Guide: Understanding the IVDR Product Classification System and Complying with the New Clinical Evidence and Performance Expectations

The EU has been working to strengthen its regulations for better patient protection and more effective implementation of the rules for in vitro diagnostic medical devices. As a result, in May 2017, a five-year in vitro diagnostic regulation (IVDR) transition plan went into effect. While some of the dates have been extended1 to allow for...

Clinical Research: Phase 1 - Phase 4

5 Tips for Operationalizing Gene Therapy Studies

Gene therapy clinical trials are logistically complex studies that require highly qualified sites and engaged patients for success. The ability to select the right sites and patients can be the difference between product failure and market approval. In this final part of a three-part blog series on gene therapy development, we provide tips on operationalizing...